Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014: The Year in Review

I was watching the Twilight Zone earlier today, because that's what people normally do on New Year's, other than drink, eat fatty foods, and reminisce. I was watching the one with Art Carney as the drunk Santa Claus.

I remember thinking "damn, wasn't I just watching one of these marathons?" They do them every New Years' and every July 4th. So the year went by so fast that I can clearly remember the last time I was watching a Twilight Zone marathon.

2014 flew by so fast that I didn't always have time to post about it. This was one of my worst years in terms of consistency, and I'm saying that up front. However, this was one of my best years in terms of customizing. I made more customs this year than I've ever made in a year before. I just sucked at actually posting them. There are probably a ton of football customs I never got to post.

Still, it's at times like these that I like to remember some of the best parts of this year, starting with the phrase "this was the year that..." So let's get on with it.

This was the year that no Philadelphia sports team made it to the playoffs. Thanks a bunch, Mark Sanchez.

This was the year that the Topps Flagship set did a bunch of things right, but ended up pissing off collectors for doing the same twenty things wrong.

This was the year that I kept getting numerous boxes of Stadium Club and Collectors Choice from the 90's off of Amazon.com. I pulled a lot of cards of Tim Salmon. Man, people really liked that guy in the 90's.

This was the year that somebody other than Mariano Rivera closed games for the Yankees. Next year, somebody else is going to play shortstop, and that's going to kill me.

This was the year that everybody got excited when Panini announced they were reviving the Donruss brand...and then everybody ripped them a new one when they got 2014 Donruss instead. I bought a couple packs of the product, and it was bland. Like, even blander than Topps.

This was the year that a gay man was drafted by the NFL. This was also the year that a gay man was released by the Dallas Cowboys. Insert Tony Romo joke here. In all seriousness, I appreciate Michael Sam, and I appreciate his determination. I wish he would have played a game for somebody, because he's a great player, and deserves more than being a trivia question twenty years down the road. I hope somebody picks him up next year and realizes how much potential he has.

This was the year that the Royals made it to the World Series, and the Orioles almost made it to the World Series. Yet in the NL, the same two damn teams that always won it faced off again, and the Giants made it to the World Series for the third time in five years.

This was the year that Guardians of the Galaxy used music better than any movie had since Tarantino started in the biz. I swear, the scene where they land the ship landing on a murky planet, set to David Bowie's 'Moonage Daydream', gave me definite chills.

This was the year that John Rocker made me hate Survivor. And that's saying something, because Jeff Kent was on a few years ago, and he wasn't that bad.

This was the year that Topps came out with the best Heritage set in years, and the best Allen & Ginter set since 2009. So even if we bash them, they are improving.

This was the year that I didn't even go to a single baseball game. Sad, isn't it?

This was the year that I was close enough to be driven to the Super Bowl, rather than taking a flight, and watched the Seahawks play some really good football against the Broncos. From the way it's looking, they'll be back there in Arizona next year.

This was the year that neither of my two baseball teams made it to the playoffs, which is funny, because exactly five years ago they were playing in the World Series against each other.

This was the year that Topps released a Stadium Club set that made practically everyone happy, and brought faith back to this collector that Topps still had original ideas left in them.

This was the year that I went to college, in a little arts school near White Plains, NY, and started working towards my dream of being a screenwriter, all the while having a few packs of cards in my drawer on top of my dorm, ready to be opened at the end of the semester, as instructed in Sharpie marker.

This was the year that Topps released a sell sheet for next year's flagship issue...and from the looks of thing, we might be getting a pretty cool set. Only time will tell, though.

So those are the highlights of my 2014. Will next year be even better? Will I post more, or less, than I did in 2014?

Who the bleep is this guy, anyway?

I've been collecting since 2007. Mostly Yankees and Phillies, but just about anything. I keep binders of players I like, baseball and football, active and retired. Current college student, though I doubt I'll ever leave this hobby behind.